Nottingham Forest’s pre-season fixture list come to an end this Saturday as they face Premiership new boys Birmingham City at the City Ground. This will be Billy Davies’ last chance to form partnerships & choose his best starting 11 ahead of a new Championship season that could well be one of the most exciting in recent years.
Vital Quotes:
Batten down the hatches, prepare for battle & give everything you’ve got in this game boys, fail to impress Billy in this match & it could be a long time before you get near the 1st team again.
Nottingham Forest Team News:
Early season worries over injuries seem to be fading now for Forest, Kelvin wilson, Luke Chambers, Joe Garner & Paul Smith all seem to be fit and available for selection, Chris Cohen, James Perch & Garath McCleary are training again so Billy Davies may have a fully fit squad (Bennett excluded) to choose from. He may well hold a few players back as a precaution but it seems all systems are go for the new season.
Player to watch: Radoslaw Majewski
Pre season has thrown up a few highs with some players whetting the appetite of the Forest faithful, Tyson’s Burton hattrick & McKenna holding the midfield are just a couple, Majewski though seems to have been the main highlight & has many Forest fans hoping we have unearthed a new star in the making. We’ll be watching this lad closely over the coming months.
Birmingham City Team News:
Brum have spent big in an attempt to make sure they retain their Premiership status in the coming season with the arrival of Roger Johnson, Barry Ferguson, England under 21 goal keeper Joe Hart (loan), Giovanny Espinoza and Christian Benitez (both Ecuador Internationals) & Scott Dann from Coventry for combined fees reportedly in the region of 15 – £20,000,000.
Player to watch: Gary McSheffrey
He may not be in Birmingham’s plans for the forthcoming season but many Forest eyes will be watching the winger to see if he’s back to full fitness in the hope we’ll bring him in.
Match Facts & Stats
Forest and Birmingham have met 86 times in league competition with Forest holding a slight advantage with 33 wins compared to 29 for Birmingham leaving us with 24 draws. There have been 210 goal in those games with Forest again holding a small lead, bagging 118 of them. Brum had the better of the fixture last season though, coming away from the City Ground with a well earned point & steam rolling the reds at St Andrews in a 2 – 0 win.
Next Fixtures:
The real deal kicks off on Saturday the 8th August at 3pm with an away fixture at Reading followed by a home League Cup tie against Bradford on Tuesday the 12th with a 7:45 kick off.
